


pretty girl with the butterscotch hair

by reodayou



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Trans Saihara Shuichi, Transphobia, im so sorry miu usually isnt this mean bahdsj its for plot, miu is an asshole, pregame au, that's it that's the whole plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:14:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25773430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reodayou/pseuds/reodayou
Summary: Besides Keebo, I’ve only had one friend in my whole life; Amami Rantaro. We were in middle school together before he studied abroad for two years. But he’s been back this year… and he chose our school. Not that he’d recognize me, considering everything. I had always liked Rantaro. He was cool, but not too cool to ignore his less popular friends, and he was really smart. Helped me out a lot. And as much as I’d hate to admit it, I had a crush on him… and those feelings haven’t quite dissipated, even after three years.But he’d never notice me. He probably doesn’t even remember me.-Shuichi can't help but feel jealous of the pretty girl with butterscotch hair that sits next to him in English class.-title from adored by him by dodie clark.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Amami Rantaro, Amami Rantaro/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 37





	1. one

I tip my hat further down on my head, shielding my eyes from sight. My left hand tightens around my schoolbag strap as my right falls into my pocket. Eyes down, steps close together, don’t make eye contact. Make eye contact and you’re dead. That’s the kind of environment this school is.

I’m Saihara Shuichi— not that that’s important. There’s nothing special about me; average height, average weight, dark hair, light eyes. I go to the worst high school in all of Japan; full of delinquents and bullies and generally awful people. Uncle tells me they’re not really that bad but he doesn’t know them the way I do. The only person at my school who’s ever been nice to me was Keebo, but we don’t talk much anymore. I miss Keebo.

Besides Keebo, I’ve only had one friend in my whole life; Amami Rantaro. We were in middle school together before he studied abroad for two years. But he’s been back this year… and he chose our school. Not that he’d recognize me, considering everything. I had always liked Rantaro. He was cool, but not too cool to ignore his less popular friends, and he was really smart. Helped me out a lot. And as much as I’d hate to admit it, I had a crush on him… and those feelings haven’t quite dissipated, even after three years.

But he’d never notice me. He probably doesn’t even remember me.

I hang a sharp left, straight into my English class. My desk is near the back, on the left side of the classroom away from the door, so I have to weave my way through cliques and friend groups to make it to my desk. On my way, I pick up bits and pieces of gossip. I hate gossip. But something today catches my ear…

“Yeah, Akamatsu-chan and Amami-kun finally got together! Took ‘em till the end of April, but—”

I gulp. Rantaro’s dating Akamatsu-chan… That’s fine. I’m fine. My gulp must have caught the attention of one of the gossiping girls, though, because I sit down at my desk and sling my bag over the corner of my chair only to look up straight into Iruma Miu’s eyes.

Iruma-san is the scariest girl in the second year, behind maybe Harukawa Maki. Now that I think about it… Iruma-san is definitely in the number 2 spot. Nothing beats Harukawa-san’s death glare. But Iruma-san really could give her a run for her money.

She’s leaning over me, her… chest hanging in my face. My face immediately reddens as she leans in even closer to me, so close I can smell her bubblegum… by the smell of it, spearmint. “Didya have somethin’ to say, virgin?” She spit the word out as though it was dirty. Like it was a bad thing. I shake my head quickly, shaking my hand below my desk to let out some pent-up energy. She tsk’s and turns away. “Amami won’t be too happy when he finds out you’re crushing on his girl.”

...Yeah. Her.

Speaking of Akamatsu-chan, the moment she entered the room it was like everybody’s eyes were fixated on her. She has long, butterscotch hair that falls neatly over her shoulders, clipped back with three dazzling silver barrettes, and always has her nails painted a light shade of lavender. They match her eyes. If I liked girls, I’d say I had a crush on her. But I don’t— I envy her, I guess. She has something I never did: confidence. Self worth.

She takes her usual seat; which, by the way, is right next to mine. The desk on my other side is empty. Iruma-san sits on Akamtsu-chan’s other side, and other students fill the desks around us. I can’t help but gaze in her general direction as Sensei enters the room, along with a certain green-haired boy.

I haven’t seen much of Rantaro this school year; then again, it’s only the end of April, and school started less than a month ago. He quickly gazes around the classroom before taking a seat at the empty desk next to me. Fuck.

I pull my hat further down on my head to hide my reddened face as he looks over to me. “Hey, I’m Amami Rantaro. I just switched classes today. It’s nice to meet you.” Even after so long, he’s still so nice. He reaches his hand out for me to shake.

“S-Saihara Shuichi,” I reply as I take his hand. It’s bigger than mine, and rough and callused.

“Saihara, huh? Any chance you related to Saihara Honoka?” He leans on his elbow, balancing it on his desk. I suck in a breath.

“Uh, no, sorry,” I respond quietly. I’m not out at my high school, at least not to the students. I can’t let him know that I _am_ Honoka.

Looking away from Rantaro, I pull my copy of the book we’re reading and place it in the corner of my desk, making sure to line it up with my pencil box and notebook. Everything’s in its place; perfect. Class starts and everything’s normal, and I’m called on to answer some questions. I do, and everything’s fine.

The time for lunch arrives and I gather my things, placing them gingerly in my bag and swinging it onto my shoulder. I leave the classroom quickly and silently, keeping my head down on my way to the cafeteria. Almost every table is full, except for one table near the back, where I know Rantaro and his friends eat. They’re crowded on one side but the other is completely barren, empty. I set my sights on the spot and take a seat. I don’t have a lunch, so my eyes just end up gazing around the cafeteria.

With Rantaro are his three best friends; there’s Shinguuji Korekiyo, who is weird but seemingly nice; Hoshi Ryoma, the shortest boy in our year, seems tough but isn't a problem; and Momota Kaito. Momota used to bully me in first year, but it's nothing. If he's friends with Rantaro he can't be all that bad.

I accidentally make eye contact with Rantaro. He gives me a small smile and a wave. My face turns red and I turn away from him.

This is gonna be difficult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for reading this shitty first chapter!! also special shoutout to y'all from the despairing summer discord server, shuu cannot catch a break


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iruma struggles to find some dirt on Shuichi while Rantaro comes to him for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> iM SO SORRY IM SWITCHING TO THIRD PERSON MY FIRST PERSON IS GROSS AS SHIT 
> 
> i switch to miu's pov for a hot second while i will notify readers of dw!!
> 
> also warning: theres a bit of uh internalized transphobia/gender dysphoria here. xd the sentence before it begins will be bolded and the sentence after it ends will be bolded as well if you'd like to skip that part!

Shuichi sat, tapping the end of his pencil against his wooden desk as his eyes skated over his teacher's writing on the board. _So, the difference between 'there', 'their', and 'they're'..._ He made a note in his notebook, his handwriting rushed and nearly illegible to the passing eye. _Makes enough sense._

The bell rang, and class ended. Shuichi stood up quickly and gingerly placed his belongings into his schoolbag, but as he backed up from his desk, he accidentally bumped into Akamatsu. Her books dropped from her arms and scattered around the floor.

"Oh, uh, sorry-" Shuichi face flushed and he rushed to help her pick up the fallen items.

"Thank you," she brushed some butterscotch shaded hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear before leaving, arm linked with Rantaro's. Shuichi watched them as they left, mouth agape.

"Hey, virgin," Iruma slammed her hand down on her desk, catching Shuichi's attention. "I dunno what you're planning, but I'm gonna find something that'll bring you down. I won't let you hurt Kaede."

Shuichi, clearly confused by the sudden burst of emotion from Iruma, looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. "I'm sorry, what?"

"It's obvious you're crushing on her! God, how stupid are you?" 

"Obviously not very, seeing as this is Honors Engli-"

"Shut up."

"I wasn't even trying to be sarcastic, it just came out, I'm sorry-"

"I don't wanna hear it, virgin!" She snapped, slamming her hand down again. "I'm not gonna let you hurt Kaede. She's my best friend, I don't want her life to get ruined by some creepy little fuck like you."

Shuichi, still incredibly confused, nodded and left the room, his hand gripping the brim of his hat. **Even though it was lunchtime, he turned and began to walk in the opposite direction before making a sharp turn into the boy's bathroom.**

Why was he in here? Only boys come in here. He should leave-

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. _Bad move, Shuichi_. He stared at his features; too-long eyelashes, too-slender jaw, too-silky smooth hair, too-round lips. Too feminine. Maybe taking off his hat would help- but then that annoying cowlick would stand up. And he'd be patting it down all day, trying to get something under his control, something- 

_Deep breaths, Shuichi. You can't start crying. Not now._

Was he really that creepy looking? Maybe Iruma was right... he was just a creepy little girl with a creepy lesbian crush on Akamatsu and couldn't do anything in his creepy little life right-

**So much for deep breaths.**

Shuichi pulled his legs to his chest, hugging them as he cried into his knees. God, now he looked like he had knelt in a huge puddle or something. At least he didn't look like he pissed his pants. The bell rung overhead and he sighed. He had missed lunch; not that he had packed anything. He'd have a bagel when he got home. It was fine.

Shuichi wiped his teary eyes and took one more look in the mirror, straightening his hat before leaving the bathroom silently. He fell into the stream of students leaving the cafeteria and made his way to the gym for his next class. Somehow Saihara's uncle had convinced the school to not make him do gym- which, to Shuichi, felt like a mistake. Since he didn't participate, he stuck out like a sore thumb, sitting in the bleachers reading instead of playing indoor hockey. 

Today was no different; sit on the gym floor for any announcements (shit like _tryouts for the volleyball team are next Wednesday_ or _make sure to grab a flyer for the triathlon before leaving_ ), disperse between boys and girls, and that was when Shuichi would leave to the bleachers. No different than any day.

**POV CHANGE: MIU IRUMA**

"Why d'ya think he doesn't play?" The question left Miu's mouth in a snarl, arms crossed over her chest as she observed Saihara from the other side of the gym. Kaede just shrugged.

"He's probably just got some sorta health issue, like asthma or something."

Miu didn't like that answer. "Nah, that's too tame. That virgin's too mysterious, I don't like it. There's gotta be somethin' he's hiding."

"Why do you care so much?" Kaede asked as she tied her long hair back into a ponytail. "Don't you think you just focus on our incredibly important game of indoor soccer?" She snickered before pulling on a red pinny and moving towards the rest of the red team."

"Hey," Miu grabbed Kaede's arm. "I'm doing this because I'm pretty sure he has a crush on you. And I don't want your relationship with Amami-kun to get ruined over a little creep."

"It's not that big of a deal, Miu-chan," Kaede rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Rantaro and I are fine. I'm not worried about Saihara-kun in the slightest. People have had crushes on me before, it's no big deal. And I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop bothering Saihara-kun. As far as I know, he hasn't done anything even somewhat worrying." She left in a huff.

"But..." Miu trailed off as Kaede left to be with her team. She shook her head. _It's not that big of a deal,_ she repeated in her head, _it's not that big of a deal. So you can calm down, Miu._

But that was always so much harder than you first imagine, wasn't it?

  
**POV CHANGE: SHUICHI SAIHARA**

Shuichi exited the gym silently as usual, holding his bag close to his body. A tap on his shoulder derailed is train of thought as he whirled around to look into the eyes of Rantaro.

"Woah, calm down, dude, it's just me," the green-haired male put his hands up in a defensive motion. "I just had a question for you, Saihara-kun. I've, um, I've noticed your work in English class, and I was wondering if you'd maybe like to, um, help tutor me? English has never really been a strong point of mine, and I've noticed you're kinda good at it so..." He trailed off, his hand rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Shuichi's face immediately grew red. "Um, uh, sure, I guess-"

"Are you okay? Your face is red."

"Wh- yeah, I'm fine, just- nobody really asks me for favours," he gave a sheepish smile. "But sure thing, R-" he stopped himself. "Amami-kun."

"Great!" Rantaro gave Shuichi a smile before leaving to catch up with Akamatsu.

Shuichi had to stop and think for a second. Rantaro wanted _him_ to tutor him. There was no way that was real.

His heart leapt with glee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im trans so if u have any complaints on how i wrote trans shuichi uh- please run them by the trash can on ur way out :)


End file.
